Surely I can't be the only person to have noticed the political shut down of The Arizona Republic. Once a thriving battleground of ideas, with daily opinion columns from all sources, as well as a daily slew of letters from subscribers, the editorial board decided to silence the debates except on Sundays. Dissenting voices, Montini, Roberts, even their past chief editor, a firm believer in right-wing causes and the communist threat, have been silenced or retired and the paper has grown ominously silent. This is especially sad when Washington is awash with controversy and chaos and Arizonans need objective, well written analysis. My guess is that Burton, the editor, believes the Arizona public must be kept calm and quiet about the upheavals. Let people find their upset elsewhere. With a Democratic governor trying to keep her feet in both camps and a Senator almost single-handedly taking on the whole Trump administration, surely that's enough? Who knows or even cares what ICE is up to? Here in Arizona our only statewide newspaper is trying its best not to stir the pot, hoping to keep the evil eye away and avoid trouble and perhaps recover some of its falling circulation. For how long?